Haitian-American Guerline Emmanuel’s three-continent tour reclaims a shared history

For Guerline Emmanuel, the story of Haiti has never been separate from the larger story of the Caribbean, Africa and the African diaspora. Her work with Belle Vue Tours has grown from that understanding, creating opportunities for travelers to experience Haiti through its history, culture and people rather than through the limited narratives that have often shaped perceptions of the country.

Now, Emmanuel and her husband, Hogarth, are taking that work in a new direction with The Legacy Tour: Three Continents, One Story, a journey designed to connect Africa, Europe and Haiti through the history of the African diaspora. The first leg of the tour is scheduled for July 2027 in Africa, followed by Europe in 2028 and Haiti at the end of 2028 into early 2029. Travelers will have the option of participating in the complete journey or joining individual segments.

The idea for the tour emerged from years of Emmanuel's work with Haiti and from a growing realization that Haiti's history could not be fully understood in isolation. Her experience in South Africa in 2023, where Belle Vue Tours undertook a project commemorating 18 Haitian heroines and heroes recognized on the Wall of Names at Freedom Park, helped bring that realization into sharper focus.

“After our South Africa experience, we realized that the story of Haiti was not complete, we had a much bigger mission,” Emmanuel said.

That larger mission became The Legacy Tour.

A Journey That Begins Before Slavery

The journey begins in Africa, reflecting Emmanuel's belief that the history of the African diaspora must be understood as more than a story of enslavement and displacement. Travelers will explore African history, culture and societies that existed for thousands of years before the transatlantic slave trade, while also visiting places connected to the forced movement of Africans into the Atlantic system.

“The tour is also around the thousand of years of our people having a history, culture and life way before the interruption of the transatlantic slave trade,” Emmanuel said.

From Africa, the journey continues to Europe, where travelers will examine the empires, institutions and systems that benefited from the transatlantic slave trade. The final stage takes travelers to Haiti, bringing the journey to the country whose revolution fundamentally challenged slavery and colonialism and established Haiti as an independent nation in 1804.

The sequence is deliberate. The tour follows the history across the places that shaped it, allowing travelers to consider the relationship between African civilizations, European power, the transatlantic slave trade and the Haitian Revolution.

Haiti at the Center

Although The Legacy Tour encompasses three continents, Haiti remains central to Emmanuel's vision.

She has spent years encouraging members of the Caribbean and wider diaspora to experience Haiti for themselves. For her, that experience can challenge assumptions while creating a deeper understanding of the connections among Caribbean people.

Emmanuel recalls watching African Americans, Belizeans, Jamaicans and particularly her Grenadian sisters encounter Palais Sans-Souci, the historic site built by Henry Christophe, who was transported to Saint-Domingue, present day Haiti,  from Grenada. The connection was especially meaningful because it demonstrated how histories that are often taught separately are, in fact, intertwined.

“I believe physically experiencing these places creates a connection to history that you simply cannot get from reading about it,” she said. “A Caribbean woman can discover how deeply her identity is connected to Haiti and the wider Caribbean.”

That philosophy is central to the way Emmanuel approaches travel. Through Belle Vue Tours, the objective has been to create experiences that connect visitors with local history, culture and people, rather than simply taking them from one attraction to another.

Following the Connections

The Legacy Tour extends that approach beyond Haiti. Travelers will encounter historic sites, archives, memorials, ports and museums and will engage with historians, cultural custodians and local knowledge keepers along the way.

For Emmanuel, the journey is about recognizing that the histories of Africa, Europe, Haiti and the wider Caribbean are not separate narratives. They are connected chapters of a larger story that continues to influence the identity of the diaspora.

That perspective also informs her belief that Caribbean people should understand the cultural legacy their ancestors carried with them despite displacement. Emmanuel points to the knowledge, traditions, beliefs, skills and creativity that survived and eventually became part of the distinctive cultures of the Caribbean.

“If more Caribbean people intentionally traveled to Haiti, Africa, and throughout our region to explore these connections, I believe we could begin to see ourselves more as a collective,” she said.

She sees that collective understanding as particularly important for a generation that may know the broad outlines of Caribbean history without always recognizing the relationships between individual countries and communities.

Owning the Legacy

The Legacy Tour also reflects a philosophy that has become increasingly central to Emmanuel's work: the importance of taking ownership of history and ensuring that the stories of Black people are preserved and carried forward.

That philosophy extends beyond travel through BVstylez and its Liberators collection, which brings the names of Haitian and Black revolutionaries and freedom fighters into everyday life. Emmanuel believes history should not remain confined to textbooks, museums and classrooms, but should remain visible in contemporary life.

Her larger purpose, she says, is connected to responsibility.

“I believe my larger purpose is to take responsibility for my country, honor my ancestors’ legacy, and add to what they left us,” Emmanuel said.

The Legacy Tour represents another expression of that responsibility. By taking travelers from Africa through Europe and ultimately to Haiti, Emmanuel is creating an opportunity for people throughout the diaspora to encounter a history that belongs to them as well.

For her, the journey is not simply about looking backward. It is about understanding what was inherited, recognizing what previous generations created from difficult circumstances and considering what the present generation will do with that legacy.